Brass Knuckles and Bruised Biceps
by madame.alexandra
Summary: Leroy Jethro Gibbs learns the hard way to let sleeping redheads lie.


_A/N: Plot Bunny evolved from the Season3Episode Bloodbath! It's the bit of fluff I promised Aly (err...Medley's update didn't really count) and the fluff that's been demanded of me since I've written so much angst lately. Enjoy!_

* * *

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sank down next to Abby Scuito in the elevator, looking at her intently. She looked comical, with all her weapons clutched tight to her chest, curled up in a little ball. It might have been funny, except she was terrified.

She looked at him, and then down at the assortment of dangerous items, holding out the stun gun a little first.

"Ziva gave me this. Cynthia gave me the pepper spray. The knuckles are Director Shepard's."

Jethro's upper arm muscles immediately started aching. He narrowed his eyes at the previously unnoticed petite metal knuckles slipped over Abby's fingers and glared, well aware of whose knuckles those were. Jenny kept them in her purse at work, and slept with them at night.

He heard himself gruffly comfort Abby and slipped his arm around her, staring at the damn knuckles and remembering the first time he'd seen them.

------------------------

They were working a high-profile case in Baltimore, and someone had decided to get themselves murdered in the middle of the night. Leroy Jethro Gibbs grumbled in irritation about it and stumbled around a dark hotel room, getting dressed for a crime scene.

He banged on the door connecting his room to Stan Burly's and William Decker's and then repeated the action on Jenny Shepard's wall, determined to kill them all if they didn't report to him in the next five minutes as tired and miserable as he was.

Burly took two. He flopped through the connecting door with most of his hair sticking straight up as Gibbs was pulling on a shirt, trying to look alert when he really just looked like a drunken frat boy.

"Ready, Boss. Up," he mumbled.

"Decker," grunted Gibbs.

"He's," Burly answered, not even finishing the sentence before he lay down on the bed and started to close his eyes again. Gibbs rolled his eyes and whacked him on the back of the head, marching over to the cracked door and peeking inside.

Decker was just coming in, looking moody but awake.

"Where's Shepard?" he asked testily, displeased to find her not awake when the rest of them were.

Burly tore one of his shoes off of his feet from his sprawled position on the bed and chucked it at the wall, creating a loud and obnoxious thump. Decker glared at the wall that separated them from Shepard's room.

"I'll get her," Gibbs growled, narrowing his eyes and marching towards the door.

"Dump ice down her back," Stan murmured, ever on the look-out for ways to get himself killed.

"He lets her get away with everything," Decker whined as Gibbs wrenched open the door and took three steps down the hall to Shepard's room. He knocked. Loudly.

After he waited a decent amount of time and received no answer, he slammed his palm against the door and barked her name, reaching down to jerk on the handle just for show. It turned and open effortlessly and he was caught off guard. Why the hell didn't she lock her door?

Sticking his head in cautiously, he peeked. She was still asleep. She probably hadn't even heard him banging around to wake her up. Smirking, He slipped into the room and shut the door quietly behind him, stealthily sneaking up to the bed.

He could dump ice water on her, or yell in her ear like a drill sergeant, but he thought it would be more fun to scare the hell out of her. He snuck around to the side she wasn't sleeping on and carefully crawled onto the bed, pausing when she twitched and sighed in her sleep. Intent on covering her mouth so she didn't scream the building down, he inched his hand towards her face slowly, creeping closer.

His wrist brushed her shoulder and Shepard grabbed his hand in a vice-like grip before he could register what happened, yanking him down roughly and slamming her fist into his biceps as she turned, her eyes still bleary with sleep.

He yelled.

"DAMMIT, JEN!"

"What the hell are you doing in my room?"

"Getting your lazy ass out of bed!" he roared back, snatching his hand out of her grip and straightening up, moving to hold his shoulder gingerly. The muscle protested as he moved it, smarting from the impressive blow she'd just given him with whatever hard piece of metal she had secured around her fist.

Shepard pushed her hair back roughly and blinked, looking confused, and he saw a glint of metal as she ran her fingers through tangled hair, glaring pointedly at the knuckles she had slipped over her fingers that had clearly done the damage to his biceps.

"Why are you sleeping with brass knuckles on your hands?" he growled, glaring at her.

She looked at him like he'd just asked the dumbest on the face of the planet.

"To protect myself," she snapped, holding up her fist, "and to make sure Burly didn't try anything. I didn't expect you to come creeping around in here!"

"You wouldn't get up, dammit!"

"I'm TIRED!" she yelled back. "And you're a slave driver!" she accused, narrowing her eyes.

"Here's an idea," Gibbs snapped sarcastically, pressing on his muscle and wincing, "_lock_ your door at night."

"I prefer to lull people into a false sense of security," she fired back, her eyes falling to his arm. She smirked a little and glanced back up at him.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No."

"It looks like I hurt you."

"Shut-up."

She tilted her head and watched as he pulled up his sleeve. The skin was red and angry, and she clicked her tongue.

"_Jesus_, Jen," he muttered, swearing under his breath.

"Let me see," she offered, leaning forward. He pulled away, glaring at her. "Don't be a baby."

"Why would I let you see? You did it!" he accused, glaring at her.

"It's your own fault you bastard," she retorted, making a grab for his arm and drawing it towards her. She patted the skin lightly and smirked at him. "You'll survive. Teach you to sneak up on me."

He glowered at her, obviously seeing no humor in the situation. Now he was tired, displeased, and his bicep was throbbing. Petulantly, her reached out and pinched her in the exact same place she'd hit him.

"GIBBS!" she shrieked, looking completely shocked and outraged.

He smirked.

She reached out and punched him in the chest with the knuckles, not too hard, but hard enough. He retaliated with a kick to her shin. Jenny scowled at him, baring her teeth.

"This is harassment!" she yelled, launching herself forward. He deftly held her wrist up and away from him, determined not to get attacked by the knuckles again. Jenny squealed and fell against his chest with a gasp of breath, successfully knocking them both backward. She upset his balance and sent them crashing to the floor, landing unceremoniously on top of him.

He noticed a lot of bare skin on top of him as he tried to wrestle her knuckles away. She had something slinky and lacy on. He yanked her wrist and she fell forward, her shoulder hitting the floor beside him. She glared at him and managed to slip her small hand out of his grip, wriggling up to aim at him again.

She slammed her fist against his shoulder again and he winced. Smirking, Jenny straddled his chest and held her fist dangerously close to his face, leaning forward to eye him threateningly with her hair spilling over her bare white shoulders.

He was suddenly glad she didn't sleep with a gun.

He also decided he wished she slept naked, if she was going to continue with this.

"Don't ever get in bed with me unless you're invited again," she growled.

He grabbed her hips and attempted to remove her but she dug one hand into his shoulder and refused to be forcibly moved.

He glared at her. She smirked, and lifted an eyebrow.

"Boss, what the hell is taking so long?"

"If she's dead, just leave her, we'll get someone to clean up…"

Decker's rude suggestion trailed off as Stan flung open Shepard's door and both occupants of the floor looked up and around sharply, caught in their compromising position by their team mates. For a moment, no one said anything. Burly and Decker just stared.

"What are you guys doing?" Burly asked loudly, glaring at them pointedly.

"Nothing."

"This isn't what it looks like."

"Really? It looks like you're about to give it to Gibbs," Decker said, lifting an eyebrow. Jenny narrowed her eyes at him.

Decker and Burly looked gloatingly at their Boss and newest team member.

"She started it," growled Gibbs.

-----------------

Leroy Jethro Gibbs scowled viciously at the knuckles still clutched in Abby's hand. They had never been able to fully explain themselves to Decker and Burly, and by the time the other two were convinced, he'd already started sleeping with Jen.

Leaning his head against the side of Abby's, Gibbs smirked lightly, thinking about it. He'd return the knuckles to Jenny himself when Abby was through.

* * *


End file.
